“She’s so cute, she carries that toy around like it’s her puppy.”
“I know, she even growls when I try to take it. So cute!”
“Aww … she’s protecting it. If I try to put it away, she sits and cries for her baby. Haha!”
Have you ever caught yourself saying something like this? I made up the above conversation, but I hear similar comments all the time. I’ve even encouraged my own dog to carry a stuffed toy around because I think it’s cute. But that’s the problem. We think it’s cute when really it’s unhealthy for a dog to obsess over a toy.
Dogs know their toys are not real.
When a dog carries her toy around all day, it is because she is obsessive or possessive about the toy. She does not think it is real. She knows it’s not her puppy. It’s us humans who create emotional attachments to stuffed animals. Dogs know better.
A dog with pent-up energy easily takes that frustration and fixates on a toy or several toys. If the dog is not given exercise, mental challenges or rules on a daily basis, the obsession on the toy grows because she has no other outlet for her energy.
We humans think it’s cute to see our dogs obsess over a toy so we even encourage the behavior. We say things over and over in an excited voice like, “Where’s your puppy?” Or, “Where’s your ball?” And then we overdo the praise and attention. We reward the obsessive behavior without even realizing it.
Obsessing over a toy can lead to aggression.
If your dog growls when you try to take her toy away, it’s not cute. I see owners of small breeds like Chihuahuas encouraging their dogs to growl because they think it’s funny. Encouraging aggressive behavior in a dog is never funny. A five-pound dog can bite someone pretty badly, especially a child who has her face up to the dog.
We think it’s cute if a rottweiler carries a stuffed puppy around all day. We like to nurture small, cute things, so we like it when our dogs do the same. We like the idea that our dog has her own “baby.” Many of us carried around stuffed animals as a kid, so it’s heartwarming to us when our dogs do the same.
Even when a rottweiler growls as someone tries to take her toy, it’s easy to overlook the behavior if the dog is gentle in all other situations. The only time my old golden retriever growled at me was when I tried to take her rawhide bone away. Since I knew she would never hurt anyone, I didn’t take her growling too seriously. But even she would snap if I tried to take her bone. This was a behavior I should not have put up with, but I didn’t know better at the time.
Of course, just because a dog loves a certain toy doesn’t mean she has issues. Just learn what the difference is between a normal dog playing and a dog that is starting to become possessive of the toy.
Signs of possessiveness to watch for:
- The dog growls, bites, barks or snaps when someone tries to take the toy.
- She refuses to give up a toy.
- The dog cries or searches for a toy once it is put away.
- The dog is fixated on the toy.
- She starts fights with other dogs when the toy is in the room.
- The dog intentionally or accidentally snaps at hands to grab the toy before it’s been given to her.
- She takes the toy and hides in a corner.
- The dog is very submissive and the toy is the one thing she “controls.”
- The dog is dominant and aggressive around other objects such as food or bones.
Ways to prevent possessiveness:
- Set time limits on when the dog can have the toy, maybe 10 minutes at a time.
- Make sure the dog understands that the toy is yours and you can take it whenever you want.
- Teach your dog the “leave it” command.
- Keep the toy out in the dog’s sight, but don’t let her have it until you say so.
- Don’t encourage obsessive, possessive or aggressive behavior.
- Make sure your dog gets enough exercise.
- Set rules for your dog and follow through.
Is your dog possessive about anything? My dog is obsessed with tennis balls, and he will growl at certain dogs if they try to take a bone from him.
No related posts.
December 13th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Ha! Yes, I have heard people make those statements about dogs thinking something is their baby, etc. Great post, most don’t realize that doggy OCD (for lack of a better term) is real and that an obsessive dog is one that is under-stimulated or under-(insert activity here).
December 14th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Very true – one of our dogs sleeps with the toy duck and hides it outside just in case we try and take it when he is not looking. Woof!
December 14th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Our old GSD used to be fixated on tennis balls. It was pretty annoying. Fortunately Biggie is not obsessive about anything except guarding, and even that’s not really obsession. We just joke that it is. And he’s not really possessive about anything, we are very lucky that he has such a great disposition.
When he wants to play with someone (another dog or person), he’ll sometimes grab something and shake it around and try to get you to chase him. But if you look at him and tell him you want it, or tell him to drop it, he does.
His breeder got him started, and we continued to work with him, to not be food aggressive or possessive about anything. So far it has worked.
December 14th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Good information for sure. Toys are great but obsession and resource guarding are not, for sure.
As for growling… it is okay within limits. My dogs growl at me, but it’s giving me information… mostly they are complaining and I know it won’t go further, so I do not dissuade them from their growling.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I had a major issue last Thursday night. I haven’t written about it yet but plan to soon. It involved protecting a bone, and biting me. *sigh*
December 15th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Just because a dog carries around a toy does not mean it is obsessed. The other signs, yes. But not just carrying it around. Especially in retriever breeds. My dogs will frantically search for a toy to carry around when I first get home. They will show me what they have and shove it at me daring me to tug on it and toss it for them a time or two. (labragifting) but will loose interest after awhile. If i get up to change rooms the ritual will begin again and the labragifting happens all over. The retrieving impulse/response is deeply breed in them and as long as it does not become possessiveness, it is a completely healthy and normal retriever behavior.
December 15th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I don’t think it’s OK for my dog to growl at me, even if he has a toy and I want to take it. Play growling is one thing though. Ace growls sometimes when we’re playing and that’s different.
Ace does the whole grab something and show it to me in every room we go to as well. I know some goldens who do this too! It’s different than carrying around one specific toy all day long or staring at a ball nonstop no matter what.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I haven’t noticed my Diesel being involved with his toys to the point of obsession. If he has a toy longer than a week, i would consider it to be extremely durable, as he likes to try and trash each toy to shreds. He has a couple of favorites that i must admit i took away from him, because of the “mess” the shreds make on my floor. If i remove the label from an empty water bottle, he loves it! http://friskypups.com
December 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
My chihuahua is obbsessed with a stuffed squirell and does try to bite when i take it from her. I tried to hide it or put it where she can see it but cant reach it and she goes insane starts shaking and whining and wont stop she hasnt eaten because of it and wont leave the chair where she and it sit because she cant get it back up there…HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
December 31st, 2008 at 11:34 am
Throw that toy away, or put it away somewhere on another level of the house when she isn’t around. She will eat when she is hungry, don’t worry about that.
Then start some serious training with your dog to show her you are in charge, not her. That means you control the toys. Also, take her for a long walk every day so she gets enough exercise and doesn’t have pent-up energy left to obsess over a toy. I wouldn’t let her have toys or bones at all unless she is playing normally and is not in that fixated, obsessive state of mind.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
We left for New Year’s for 6 days. Our neightboor looked after Jessie and gave her two small stuffed animals. We have bought toys for her before and she just chews them up. This time, she is obsessive. She is not growling at us, but at our male dalmation. She is acting like a mother to these toys inclduing licking them clean after we hold them. She will not leave them and is refussing to eat. We have showed our dominance by picking up and moving the toys. She doesnt like us having them but does not try to bite or growl. She just gets real anxious. I am thinking about throwing them away, but what will that do to her?
January 7th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Throw them away. But watch and make sure she doesn’t become possessive/obsessive over any other toys. Don’t worry about her, she’ll get over it. Dogs move on a lot better than people do. If she does seem weird after you throw the toys away, then distract her by taking her out for a run, working on training or playing with her.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:06 am
my dog stays with a toy duck all day. Won’t go outside or eat unless you bring it to her. Just sits all day with this toy.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
i have a chihuahua at the moment she thinks a pig (soft toy) is her puppy or something i dont no if its the same thing as others have written about there dogs or not but my chihuahua only acts possessive of 1 toy and only when she is on or coming on 2 heat.she humps it furiously just before she comes on heat. so is this just an obsession or does she really just want to be a mum?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
oh plus my brothers pitbull had puppies they are only 4 weeks he brought one round and she left the pig and acted as if the puppy was hers let it nuzzle into her to sleep and got really anxious if anybody touched it. when he took it away she chased him and after he left she went straight back to the pig. she hardly ever leaves her bed i have to make her most of the time she is going to be 5 this year is that to old to breed a chihuahua?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Instead of breeding her, why not have her spayed and give her more exercise? She doesn’t want to be a mom, she just doesn’t know what to do because she has pent-up energy and she is bored.
I would definitely put that pig away and only let her have it for a few minutes a day.
October 28th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
All of those signs of ‘possessiveness’ is exactly the way my dog acts and MORE! My dog gets really, REALLY obsessive when it comes to toys. We can go and buy lets say 6-7 new toys and 4-5 rawhides(mind you I have 3 other dogs plus him)and within an hour he will have all of the new toys and rawhides gathered up and he will have dragged them under the bed…yea I know! He is almost all the time under the bed and any time you get around or even near the bed he will start growling. He carries the toys outside with him when they use the ‘potty’ and freaks out when we take them away. Once we crawled under the bed and took them all away, I thought the dog had a heartattack! The way he was shaking, crying, and just clawing at us to give them back! And what drives me crazy is the way he ‘washes’ all of the toys. He will sit and spend hours just licking them until they turn a disgusting color! Ugh it’s soooo annoying! I wish there was some easy way of correcting his problem! It’s not the other dogs because out of the other 3, only 1 actually plays with toys, the other 2 could careless as long as they have a rawhide! What is my dog’s problem!?
October 28th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
If you want to put a stop to this behavior, I recommend you follow some of the tips provided in the post. Don’t allow your dog to bring toys or bones under the bed. Make him play with toys out in the open and purposely take them away often for a few seconds at a time. Don’t give them back when he is freaking out because this just rewards the behavior. Give them back when he is calm, and keep taking them away. You’re right, there is no easy way to correct the problem.
November 6th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
omg, I’m not the only one seeing this with there dogs I guess. My maltess carries it around all day and cries and whimpers w/ it in her mouth, then puts it by her belly and licks it gently. When she picks the rubber dog up w/ her teeth it takes her like 5 minutes to gently pick it up so it doesnt hurt the dang toy hahaha well I dont know what she is thinking!
January 5th, 2010 at 1:52 am
My moms chihuahua just had a puppy and it was still born she now treats her rubber toy dog like its her puppy licking it, protecting it, and even trying to get it to nurse. she is very possisive of it and freaks out when the other dogs come in the room or even other people going so far as to attack the other dogs and nip at my mom and dad. she has never done this befor and we are worried about her
January 5th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I would throw that toy away. Then I would provide the dog with a lot of distractions such as long walks every day and training sessions to get her mind off it. I would avoid comforting her too much because that will just encourage and reward her behavior.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
My dog is submissive but when there is a rawhide ANYWHERE in a room that she knows she can get(it doesn’t necessarily need to be line of sight) she growls and snaps when you try and pet her head. She doesn’t even chew on the rawhide in front of me because its almost like she’s afraid that I might take it if she does.(I have in the past… to discourage this behavior initially)
As soon as I put the rawhide on a shelf where she knows she doesn’t have access she immediately goes into a submissive state again(at this point I’m pretty displeased and she can pick up on it)
Is the only solution to this to simply never give her rawhide?
March 16th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
You need to claim the rawhide before you give it to her. Deliberately place it on the ground and don’t let her take it until you say it’s OK. If she tries to approach and take it, correct her and stand over the rawhide like another dog would do.
Put her leash on her whenever she will receive a rawhide. That way you will have more control and can take it from her whenever you want. I would practice this every day. Giver her the rawhide (after you’ve claimed it first) and then take it away. If she growls at you, you can’t back down. You have to move into her space and show her that you are not scared and that you own the rawhide.
I know this is easier said than done as it is scary when a dog is going to snap. And please be very careful. It helps to approach from the side without making direct eye contact. When she growls or snaps, don’t back away. She is most likely bluffing and will eventually give up if you hold your ground. Don’t put your hands out. Sit with your side to her or if she is a small dog, back her into a corner while standing and eventually you can just step on the rawhide and hold it there until she backs off.
Another option is the one you suggested – just don’t give her rawhides. But you may eventually see the behavior with toys or other objects if you don’t get it under control. Don’t be afraid to find a professional in your area to help you out.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Ok thanks for the advice I’ll try the leash thing.
She doesn’t take the rawhide in front of me unless I actually put it in her mouth and she’ll soon drop it unless I want to chase her around with it or something(like a normal toy). In fact she doesn’t even chew it in front of me anymore, but she is still sometimes aggressive when it is in the room and on floor level. Its so striking that immediately when the rawhide is not accessible she is again wagging her tail and/or being submissive(depending on how pissed off I am at her for being aggressive at that particular instance)
When she gets aggressive I never have backed down until I “won”. If she gets aggressive I do the hand nip at her neck area and get on top of her and pin her until she stops baring her teeth and then I remove the rawhide from access. Is this probably helping or hurting the situation?
March 17th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Doing a “hand nip” at her neck will help if you have the timing right. Removing the rawhide from the situation unfortunately will not teach her anything. Instead, keep doing repetitions of giving her the bone and then taking it away maybe three or four times in a row a few times each day until she understands you can take the bone away whenever you want. It will probably take a few weeks for her to get it, but if you are consistent it should work.
Getting on top of her and pinning her down might be a bit extreme. I put dogs onto their sides in some cases where they have been aggressive or too excited, but I make sure to do it in a calm way. If I am angry and forceful, it just shows that I’m not really the one in control – I’m too emotional and upset. It can also end up scaring the dog and making her more aggressive.
Funny how dog’s minds work, isn’t it? I know what you mean about switching so fast from dominant to submissive. I’m working with a dog right now who is aggressive to strangers when she is off leash but as soon as her leash is on she is submissive and friendly. It’s the same concept.